> > > Is it possible to perform a crosstab query in postgres similar the
> > > functionality that MS Access provides?
> > >
> > > I tried building the query in Access (against postgre 6.5.3 using ODBC)
> > > and using the SQL created by Access, but it looks like very non-standard
> > > SQL code and postgre doesn't support it.
> >
> > ...[gratuitous sarcasm snipped]...
> > you might want to describe what a crosstab query is...
>
> A crosstab is also known in MS Excel as a "pivot table", if that helps
> any. It facilitates drag-and-drop data analysis by creating arbitrary
> 2-D matrices aggregated from data columns. Very cool, and hard to
> adequately describe, as it makes some complex operations very simple, and
> I don't understand how it works underneath. IMO, it is one of the most
> powerful data analysis tools in existence. It would be neat to be able
> to do something similar in pgsql...
>
Applix has something called TM1 that does this. They have a (ug)
flash demo and some more documentation at
http://www.applix.com/itm1
It used to be available for Linux, but with the big reorg, who
knows.
-- cary